Auto exhaust treating means

ABSTRACT

AN AUTO EXHAUST TREATING MEANS FOR REMOVING UNBURNED HYDROCARBONS FROM EXHAUST GASES AND PREVENT THEIR BEING INTRODUCED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, WHICH MEANS COLLECTS SOLID MATTER CARRIED BY EXHAUST GASES AND HOLDS IT IN THE PRESENCE OF HIGH TEMPERATURE, BURNING GASES FOR INCINERATION THEREOF, ARRESTS COMBUSTION OF GASES, EFFECTS   SUBSEQUENT COOLING OF GASES AND CONDENSATION AND PRECIPITATION OF CERTAIN OF THE UNBURNED HYDROCARBONS CARRIED THEREBY, AND SEPARATES THE CONDENSATES AND PRECIPITATES FROM THE GASES AND COLLECTS THEM FOR SUBSEQUENT DISPOSAL.

Sept. 20, 1971 J. A. BUTTLER AUTO EXHAUST TREATING MEANS Filed March 24, 1969 m i Q u um .W H H I HJF yw H x Z 0 w... w r H j 1, g l 63 Q h E 2 .M H. 2 H w 5 H Kuhny u .T! w U. H B m flf fa rney Patented Sept. 20, 1971 3,605,389 AUTO EXHAUST TREATING MEANS John Allen Buttler, deceased, late of Los Angeles, Calif., by James W. Allen, administrator, North Hollywood, Calif., assignor to Walhamlin, Inc.

Filed Mar. 24, 1969, Ser. No. 812,554 Int. Cl. F0111 3/02; F02b 75/10 US. Cl. 55-269 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An auto exhaust treating means for removing unburned hydrocarbons from exhaust gases and prevent their being introduced into the atmosphere, which means collects solid matter carried by exhaust gases and holds it in the presence of high temperature, burning gases for incineration thereof, arrests combustion of gases; effects subsequent cooling of gases and condensation and precipitation of certain of the unburned hydrocarbons carried thereby; and separates the condensates and precipitates from the gases and collects them for subsequent disposal.

This invention relates to means or apparatus for handling exhaust gases issuing from an internal combustion engine of an automobile or the like.

In recent years many attempts have been made to handle and treat auto exhaust so as to remove, as much as possible, certain unburned hydrocarbons which contaminate the atmosphere and create what is commonly referred to as smog.

The prior art, in attempting to bring about the desired end, has employed afterburners, which burners are intended to materially increase the temperature of the exhaust gases and to burn the previously unburned hydro carbons.

Decedent found that while afterburners work to a certain extent, they do not burn suflicient amounts of the materials sought to be eliminated, but simply expand them further, by virtue of the heat generated, thereby making them less dense and more susceptible to being absorbed in and carried by the atmosphere.

Other attempts to solve the problem here concerned with have involved centrifugal separators, and the like. Such separators have proven to be of limited success, since many of the hydrocarbons are in gaseous form and are so light and ratified that adequate separation by centrifugal force, or the like, is impossible.

Still other attempts to solve the problem have included passing the exhaust through filter pack handling devices. While such means have proved to be satisfactory for limited periods of time, they are economically impractical, as they require repeated and continual maintenance and replacement of the filter packs.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel, highly effective and dependable means for separating certain undesirable hydrocarbons from the exhaust gases of automobiles, which hydrocarbons would otherwise enter the atmosphere and contribute to the contamination thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel piece of equipment of the character referred to which reduces certain of the gaseous hydrocarbons in auto exhaust to a liquid or solid state, in which state they are not readily absorbed or carried by the atmosphere.

It is an object of the invention to provide a piece of equipment of the character referred to which is easy and economical to manufacture and easily and conveniently engaged in a standard automobile exhaust system, as by substituting it for a conventional auto exhaust muflier.

Another object of the invention is to first arrest all flame in the exhaust gases, reduce its velocity and back pressure, and then cool the gases so as to cause condensation and precipitation of certain of the undesirable gases, and then collect said condensates and precipitates for subsequent disposal.

The various objects and features of the invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description of typical preferred forms and applications of the invention, throughout which description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an automobile showing the invention related thereto;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken as indicated by line 22 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken as indicated by line 3-3 on FIG. 1; A

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken as indicated by line 4-4 on FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken as indicated by line 55 on FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a modified form of the invention.

The structure provided by the present invention is adapted to be engaged with and to extend between the header pipe 10 and the tail pipe 11 of an ordinary or conventional exhaust system of an automobile.

The structure includes, generally, a primary arresting unit or chamber B and a secondary condensing unit C.

The unit or chamber B includes an elongate tubular body 12 having front and rear ends 13 and 14 and a plurality of longitudinally spaced screens 15. The front end 13 of the body is provided with a central longitudinally outwardly extending coupler tube 16 adapted to slidably receive the rear end of the header pipe 10 of the auto exhaust system and is shown held in tight clamped engagement with the header pipe by means of a suitable screw actuated clamp ring 17. The rear end 14 of the body is provided with a central longitudinally outwardly extending coupler tube 18 adapted to slidably engage about the forward end of a coupler tube on the unit C or a tubular duct 19 extending between the units B and C, as circumstances require. The duct is shown secured to the tube 18 by means of a suitable screw-actuated clamp ring 20'.

The screens 15 can vary widely in form, that is, they can be established of Woven metal fabric or can be established from perforated sheet metal stock, as circumstances require or as is desired. The screens 15 are simple disc-shaped members arranged in longitudinal spaced relationship in the body 12 to extend transversely thereof. In the preferred carrying out of the invention, and as illustrated in the drawings, the screens 15 are held in fixed relationship in the body by means of zigzagged or corrugated annular spacer sleeves 21 slidably engaged in the interior of the body.

In operation, the screens 15 in the unit B serve, first, to arrest flames in the exhaust gases, second, to catch solid matter in the exhaust and retain it until it burns out or cools, and, third, to absorb, heat and conduct it to the body and the spacer sleeves from which it radiates.

The corrugated spacer sleeves 21 serve as heat sinks, that is, they serve to absorb heat from the exhaust and conduct it to the body for subsequent radiation and disposal.

In addition to the above, the unit B serves to allow the gases to expand, causing cooling thereof.

The condensing unit C includes an elongate tubular body 25 having front and rear ends 26 and 27, front and rear partitions 28 and 29 defining a front inlet chamber X, a central heat transfer chamber Y and a rear discharge chamber Z.

The front end 26 of the body 25 is provided with a central longitudinally, outwardly extending coupler tube 31 adapted to slidably receive the rear end of the duct '19, or the rear coupling tube 18 of the unit B, and is shown secured to the duct 19 or the tube 18 by means of a suitable screw-actuated clamp ring 32. The rear end 27 of the body 25 is provided with a central longitudinally outwardly extending coupler tube 33 adapted to sildably engage in the forward end of the tail pipe 11 of the auto exhaust system and is shown secured in place therein by means of a screw actauated clamp ring 34 engaged about the tail pipe.

The partitions 28 and 29 are alike and are provided with a plurality of registering or axially aligned openings 35 and 36' to cooperatively receive the front and rear ends of a plurality of longitudinally extending flow tubes 37, which tubes extend freely through the central heat transfer chamber Y.

The walls of the body about the front and rear chambers X and Z are imperforate, while the portion of the body about and defining the central chamber Y is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced, circumferentially extending slot-like apertures 38. The apparatus 38 at the forward half of the chamber Y are provided with forwardly and radially outwardly inclined air scoops 40, while the apertures 38 at the rear half of the chamber Y are provided with rearwardly and radially outwardly inclined vanes 41.

The rear or discharge chamber Z is provided with a baffle 42, spaced between the partition 29 and the rear end 27 and extending transversely of the chamber. The bafiie 42 is provided with a plurality of apertures 43, which apertures are staggered with respect to and out are provided with forwardly projecting annular flanges about their peripheries, which flanges serve to prevent matter deposited on and flowing across the forward surface of the bafiie from flowing through the apertures into the rear portion of the chamber Z, and thence out through the tail pipe 11 communicating therewith.

The lower side of the body, at the forward end of the chamber Z, and forward of the bafile 42, is provided with one or more drain openings 45, which openings communicate with a catch basin 46 fixed to the exterior of the body and into which precipitates and/ or condensates can flow.

The catch basin 46 is provided with a bleed valve 47, which valve can be opened to allow the material gathered in the basin to be discharged.

The basin is provided so that the condensates, and the like, do not remain in the chamber Z where they would be subject to being picked up by the turbulent exhaust gases flowing therethrough and carried out through the tail pipe 11.

In practice, the accumulated cross-sectional area of the flow tubes 37 is considerably greater than the cross-sectional area of the header and tail pipes 10 and 11 of the auto exhaust system, so that no back pressure is created, so that the gases are allowed to expand and cool, and so that the velocity of the gases is materially reduced as they travel through the flow tubes.

In operation, and 'when the vehicle with which the structure is related, is traveling forwardly, cooling air is directed and urged through the aperture 38 into the forward end of the chamber Y by the scoops 40, and is drawn from the rear end of the chamber Y through the apertures 38 therein by the action of the air at the exterior of the construction flowing rearwardly by the vanes 41. Further, incoming air at the forward end of the chamber Y urges the air in the chamber rearwardly therein and out through the ports 38 at the rear portion of the chamber.

It will be apparent that when the construction provided is in operation, the flame-free and pre-cooled exhaust gases issuing from the unit B enters the chamber X of the unit C, where it expands, cools, and slows down. The gases then flow slowly from the chamber X through the flow tubes 37 extending through the heat exchange chamber Y, -which tubes are cooled by the air flowing through the chamber Y, thereby resulting in a heat exchange between the air in the chamber and the gases in the tubes, cooling the gases and resulting in condensation and precipitation thereof. The condensates and/or precipitates are carried through the tubes 37 and discharged into the chamber Z, where they impinge upon the baffle 42 adjacent the ports 43 therein. These materials drop or flow downwardly across the forward face of the bafile and into the lower portion of the chamber Z, and thence into the basin 46, through the port 45, for subsequent disposal.

The remainder of the exhaust gases flow through the ports 43 into the baffie and into the rear portion of the chamber Z, and thence outwardly through the tube 33 and the tail pipe 11.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6 of the drawings, the units B and C are formed integrally with each other, there being a single elongate tubular body 50 having a forward portion 51 establishing the unit or chamber B and a rear portion 52 establishing the unit C or chambers Y and Z.

In this form of the invention, the partition 28' with which the forward ends of the tubes 37' are related, establishes the rear end of the chamber B.

With this construction, it will be apparent that the elements and/ or parts 14, 18, 19 and 20, or the unit B, and the elements and/ or parts 26, 31 and 32, and the chamber X, or the unit C, are eliminated.

Further, with this second form of the invention, and elimination of the above-noted parts and/or portions, the exhaust gases are not choked down and the velocity and resulting pressure and temperature of the gases is not increased as it travels from the chamber B into and through the chamber Y, as in the first form of the invention, where it is conducted through the duct 19.

The above-noted advantage afforded by the second form of the invention is significant and, in practice, where space permits, it is preferred that this second form of the invention be employed.

Having described only typical preferred forms and applications of the invention, it is to be understood that the spirit of the invention is not limited or restricted to the specific details herein set forth, but extends to and includes any variations or modifications that may appear to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for removing unburned hydrocarbons from the exhaust gases of automobile internal combustion engines comprising, a first elongate chamber with front and rear ends, the front end of said first chamber connected with and receiving exhaust gases issuing from an internal combustion engine, longitudinally spaced transverse screens in said first chamber to catch and collect solids carried by the gases, said screens serving as heat sinks and as flame arrestors whereby solids collected thereby are incinerated and the burning gases within the first chamber are extinguished, a second elongate chamber with front and rear ends, means establishing communication between the rear end of the first chamber and the front end of the second chamber, a pair of axially spaced partitions in and extending across the second chamber, a plurality of axially extending exhaust gas conducting condensing tubes extending through and between the partitions and means to conduct cooling air into and out of the second chamber between the partitions therein and about the condensing tubes, a bafile in the second chamber rearward of the rearmost partition and having apertures therein in misalignment with the rear ends of the condensing tubes, a downwardly opening drain opening in the second chamber between the baffle and the rearmost partition, a catch basin below said second chamber and communicating wtih the drain opening and an exhaust pipe connected with the rear end of the second chamber.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein the first chamber is defined by a canister having a cylindrical side wall and front and rear end walls, said front end wall having an opening connected with a header pipe extending from the engine, said rear wall having an opening connected with a flow tube, said second chamber being established by a canister having a cylindrical side wall and front and rear end walls, said front wall having an opening connected with said flow tube and said rear wall connected with the exhaust pipe.

3. An aparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said first chamber has axially spaced sleeves corrugated in cross-section with outer portions in heat conducting contact with the side wall of the canister, said screens being engaged between and held by the opposing ends of adjacent sleeves.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the screens are separated and held by and between axially spaced sleeves in the first chamber.

'5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the means conducting air into and out of the second chamber includes air conducting openings communicating between the interior and exterior of said chamber between the partitions.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the means conducting air into and out of second chamber and about the condensing tube includes axially spaced air conducting openings establishing communication between the interior and exterior of the chamber between the partitions, forwardly and outwardly disposed air scoops related to the foremost of the openings and rearwardly and outwardly directed air vanes related to the rearmost of the openings.

7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the chambers are defined by an elongate canister with front and rear ends and a radial wall between said ends defining the rear end of the first chamber and the front end of the second chamber and having an opening therein connecting the chambers.

8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein the side wall of the canister between the partitions in the second chamber has axially and circumferentially spaced slot openings to conduct air into and out of the chamber between the partitions and about the condensing tubes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,738,854 3/1956 Thrower -267 FRANK W. LUTTER, Primary Examiner S. H. MARKOWITZ, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 55-485; -29 

